Thursday, April 30, 2015

I was really excited to read Yogurt by Janet
Fletcher because my mom used to make yogurt for us but she never explained the
science behind it. This book goes into great detail about how to make
yogurt from scratch using different types of milk (cow, goat, sheep), the
starter, and incubation methods as well as trouble shooting tips if something goes wrong. In addition to making yogurt, she also teaches
the readers how to make drained yogurt, Greek yogurt, yogurt cheese, and
using whey. You can find various resources online but the author did
extensive research on this topic and put it all in one place.

Although there are fifty recipes included in
this book, I was most excited about the meat recipes and some of the dessert
recipes. I’m always curious about how yogurt heightens the flavor of a
dish and can’t wait to try the harissa roasted chicken, lamb meatballs in
yogurt sauce, and lamb souvlaki with skillet flatbread. For the
dessert recipes, both the Greek yogurt panna cotta and absinthe’s
golden yogurt cake sound amazing. I was disappointed not to find any recipes
for frozen yogurt except for a yogurt sorbet.

The book also has many
gorgeous photographs by Eva Kolenko but definitely needed more pictures to
showcase the recipes. I would buy Yogurt just for the method section and
not so much for the recipes. Once the weather gets really warm, my mom and I plan on trying some of her techniques to see how they compare with the way we make Vietnamese yogurt. Yogurt is the perfect book for anyone interested in
making your own yogurt and needing recipe ideas for savory and dessert yogurt
based dishes.

Sunday, April 26, 2015

Ice cream flavors
like mango, jackfruit, durian, coconut, pandan, and coffee were the ones I grew up with.My mom sold ice cream and frozen yogurt as a
side job when I was very young.I was the chief taste tester and couldn’t
be happier to play that role.

It wasn’t
until we moved to America that I was exposed to exotic flavors like cookies and
cream, rocky road, salted caramel, cherry garcia, and rum raisin.We went through a period of time where a new
flavor was brought home whenever my mom went grocery shopping.

Throughout the years, one flavor has remained
my favorite—rum raisin from Haagen-Dazs!The first time I had rum raisin ice cream, my taste buds did a happy
dance.There’s something about that hint
of rum that makes it so good!

With the weather warming up and my freezer semi-empty, I decided it was time to experiment. After several
batches, I found the ratio of milk, cream, egg, sugar, raisins, and rum that I
like.I hope you enjoy it as much as I
do!

Rum raisin ice cream

1 ½ cup of 2% organic
milk

1 ½ cup of organic heavy
whipping cream

4 small egg yolks

½ cup of sugar (If you like your ice cream on the sweet side, use 3/4 cup of sugar instead)

3 tbsp of dark rum

For the raisins

½ cup of raisins

½ cup of dark rum
(reserve 3 tbsps of rum for ice cream)

1. Combine the raisins
and dark rum in a bowl and let the raisins soak overnight.

2.In a medium heatproof bowl, whisk the yolks just
to break them up, then whisk in half of the sugar. Set aside.

3. In a heavy, nonstick saucepan, stir
together milk, cream, and remaining sugar.

4. Put the pan over medium-high heat and
let the mixture boil gently to bubbling just around the edges (gentle simmer).Reduce the heat to low.

5. Carefully measure out ½ cup of hot
cream mixture. While whisking the eggs constantly, whisk the hot cream
mixture into the eggs until smooth. Continue tempering the eggs by adding
another ½ cup of hot cream to the bowl with the yolks.

6. Pour the cream-egg
mixture back to the saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly until
it thickens and coats the back of a spatula.

7. Strain the base
through a fine-mesh strainer into a clean container.

8. Stir in the rum soaked raisins
and 3 tbsps of rum.

9. Pour the mixture
into a 1-gallon Ziplock freezer bag and submerge the sealed bag in an ice bath
until cold, about 30 minutes. Refrigerate the ice cream base for at least
4 hours or overnight.
10. Pour the ice cream base into the frozen canister of your ice cream machine
and follow the manufacturer’s instructions.
11. Spin until thick and creamy, about 25-30 minutes.
12. Pack the ice cream into a storage container, press a sheet of parchment
directly against the surface and seal with an airtight lid. Freeze in the
coldest part of your freezer until firm, at least 4 hours.

Sunday, April 19, 2015

I have been a follower of Tara O’Brady’s blog since its beginning and couldn’t be more excited to try the recipes from Seven Spoons. After perusing the book several times, I decided to make the ones that seem the most interesting and/or delicious. Honestly, I was sold at Vietnamese coffee ice cream. Vietnamese coffee and ice cream are two of the few things that we can’t live without so it was a no brainer. After 2 hours of prepping/cooking and overnight freezing, the ice cream debuted the next day and became an instant hit. I have made Vietnamese coffee ice cream many times but Tara’s addition of caramel brought it to another level. This recipe will be added to our arsenal of ice cream favorites.The avocado toast was an easy and tasty breakfast item especially when my day begins at 5 AM with no time to make our usual noodles, eggs, or oatmeal. I skipped the sprouts and didn't think I missed anything. And the bostocks! Where do I even begin? Bostocks are brioche slices soaked in orange syrup, slathered in almond cream, and baked until the edges are crispy and caramelized but the center becomes custardy. They were amazing and reminded us of almond croissants. Forget about making almond croissants! Bostocks are way easier to make and taste just as delicious any time of the day. I’m contemplating playing with different syrups to see how they pair with the almond cream. Last but not least, the moussaka was better than I expected. I have been using chef Gordon Ramsay’s moussaka recipe from World Kitchen for years so it was time to try something different. Tara’s recipe was spot on and more flavorful than chef Ramsay’s recipe and just as good as the moussaka from our favorite Greek restaurant. Her judicious use of spices and seasoning created a more complex moussaka. Another winner! Overall, Seven Spoons is a great cookbook with solid recipes. I love the global influence reflected in the dishes that Tara chose to feature in this cookbook--from her Indian heritage, husband’s Irish and British roots, Canadian upbringing, Middle Eastern flavors, and so much more. Her style of cooking and philosophy resonate with mine and I can’t wait to try other recipes from Seven Spoons. *I received this book to review complementary of the publisher

Saturday, April 11, 2015

Franklin Barbeque is one of those cookbooks I have been
anxiously waiting for since I first heard about its publication. Our
friends in Texas said that Franklin BBQ opens at 11 AM but people usually line
up at 9 AM and everything is sold out by noon. They vouched that Franklin
BBQ is the best so we wanted to see if it lives up to its reputation.

Unlike other BBQ books that are broken down into
the different types of meat, Franklin organized his book in a way to teach you
the concepts and technicalities for making the best Texas BBQ. Franklin
started the book off with Franklin BBQ’s humble beginning or rather Franklin’s
journey of enjoying BBQ as a hobby at the time he met his wife, to his first
BBQ job at John Mueller chopping cabbage, onion and cutting brisket for
customers, and long road to opening his own BBQ joint. I love his
stories, DYI spirit, Craigslist prowling skill, willingness to get his hands
dirty, and unwavering drive to make his dream a reality. His success is
truly reflective of one’s grit and passion to make the American dream come
true.

Chapter two goes into the the nitty gritty of
building your own smoker should you choose to. He teaches the readers how
to build an offset smoker vs an upright drum smoker but he also included many
useful tips for buying a smoker if you’re not in the DYI camp. In chapter
3, Franklin talked about the different types of wood, getting down to a
molecular level which made the nerd in me smile, to provide the readers with
the tools to bring out the best flavor of meat they’re smoking. With the
remaining chapters, Franklin teaches the readers how to start and observe a
fire, choosing the best meat to BBQ, as well as making the different dry rubs,
sauces, and side dishes.

We have only tried the ribs and the beans, and
they turned out really good. Mind blowing ribs? Not quite, then again we are not smoking experts. We would love to eat at Franklin BBQ in the future
just to compare the book’s recipes to the real deal. If you’re looking
for a lot of recipes, this book will disappoint you. Only twelve recipes
are included in this book which cover dry rubs, meats like brisket, pork ribs,
beef ribs, turkey breast, and a few side dishes. If you’re willing to
read the book from cover to cover, take really good notes, and pay attention to
all the detail when you’re prepping and cooking meat, you’ll be well on your
way to making darn good BBQ right in your backyard.

In a way, this book reminds me of Relae and chef
Christian Puglisi’s philosophy to teach concepts and techniques with the hope
of inspiring people to explore and to transform the ingredients rather than
restricting people to the written recipes. As Franklin quoted, "I would like somebody to take
away from it the fact that they don't need recipes... It's all about the craft." Franklin Barbeque is really a meat
smoking manifesto that explains why wood, fire, smoke, and meat work together
the way they do. We still can’t believe he put all of his insight and secrets into those
pages. Many good cookbooks exist but truly exceptional ones are rare.
This is one of those exceptional ones given how much depth and attention
to detail Franklin brought to this book. Franklin Barbeque is truly a
masterpiece from from the country’s most celebrated pitmaster.

Sunday, April 5, 2015

I haven’t been out in
the garden for a few weeks and was really surprised at how well the herbs and
passion fruit vines are doing.The mint
has overgrown the garden box even though we’re only a few weeks into
spring.The passion fruit vines made it
through winter with lots of fruits ready to be picked, over 10 pounds to be exact!We made lots of drinks and smoothies using mint and passion fruit.

Passion fruit, mango,
and mint lassi is one of our favorite smoothies.Lassi is a popular yogurt-based drink from
India and Pakistan.It can either be
savory or sweet, but we prefer the latter.This lassi is incredibly refreshing, especially during a hot day.Both the passion fruit and mint give this
sweet drink a kick and it totally hits the spot when you’re craving for
something sweet.We’ll often whip up
this lassi as a way to end a heavy meal instead of indulging in sugary desserts.

Passion fruit mango and mint lassi

2 cups of Champagne
mangos, flesh only

2-3 passion fruits,
pulp only (reserve seeds for serving)

¼ cup of yogurt

¼ cup of coconut milk

6 mint leaves

a handful of ice
cubes

1 tbsp honey
(optional)

1. Combine all the
ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

2. Taste for sweetness
and add honey if needed.Divide between
two glasses.Add the passion fruit seeds
on top and serve immediately.